PLYMOUTH, N.H. –A Plymouth State graduate is making his mark as a up-and-coming opera singer by co-starring in the world premiere of a much anticipated production. Daniel Brevik, ’11, performs in a featured role for the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. The original production, 27, was written specifically for Brevik, a baritone, and world-renowned mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe. The opera takes its name from the address 27 Rue de Fleurus, a Paris home where legendary patrons of the arts Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas hosted gatherings for expatriate artists and writers such as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. Blythe will create the role of Stein, Brevik will play both Hemingway and Matisse. Brevik and Blythe are featured on the cover of the June, 2014 issue of Opera News magazine, which Brevik said illustrates, literally and figuratively, the trajectory of his career.

“During my senior year at PSU, Dr. Kathleen Arecchi arranged for a group of us to go watch an HD Met broadcast,” Brevik recalled. “It was Wagner’s Die Walküre, which starred Metropolitan Opera superstar Stephanie Blythe. Fast forward three years, and I now see my face on the cover of Opera News right next to her. This feeling is still very surreal to me, and hasn’t quite sunk in.”

Brevik noted his colleagues, some of whom have years of opera experience, have been very helpful to him.

“The seasoned professionals I worked with last summer out here were so much fun,” Brevik said.

Brevik attributes his success to PSU’s Department of Music, Theatre and Dance.

“Plymouth State was an extremely comfortable atmosphere for me to hone my craft,” he noted. “The school offered superb teaching and direction, along with a huge variety of courses and extra curricular actives. The student-run acapella group, Vocal Order, was important because it helped me let loose while performing.”

He added, “It’s been quite the journey getting me where I am today and I hope to continue down this exciting path. My hope for the future is that I am still enjoying this process. I do not believe I would have achieved this success had I gone to a different school for my undergrad. To this day, I am still very grateful that I chose Plymouth State.”